#WrestleBudapest19

Elsayed Advances to Second World Final in 10 Days at #WrestleBudapest

By Taylor Miller

Photo of Mohamed Elsayed (EGY) by Kadir Caliskan.

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Reigning U23 World champion Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) put together an impressive day on Saturday to move onto the 67 kg finals in Greco-Roman at the 2019 U23 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Tomorrow will mark his second World finals in the last 10 days as he won a World Military Games gold medal in Wuhan, China. Just over a month ago, Elsayed finished fifth at the 2019 World Championships in Kazakhstan.

To defend his U23 title, Elsayed will face Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (BLR).

The 60 kg gold-medal match features 2018 Senior World silver medalist Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), who will face Armen MELIKYAN (ARM) for the championship.

Sharshenbekov is also a 2017 Junior World silver medalist and 2016 Cadet World bronze medalist.

It will be a battle of Junior World champions at 97 kg as Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN), a 2018 Junior World champion, will face 2016 Junior World champion Giorgi MELIA (GEO) in the finals.

Melia already owns a U23 World medal, taking third in 2018. Savolainen has a pair of additional age-group World medals from the 2017 Junior Worlds and 2015 Cadet Worlds.

At 82 kg, 2016 Junior World silver medalist Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO) will take on 2019 Russia Nationals bronze medalist Milad ALIRZAEV (RUS).

For gold at 72 kg, 2019 Senior Asian champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) will go head-to-head with 2012 Cadet World bronze medalist Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE).

The finals are set for Sunday at 5 p.m. local time live on unitedworldwrestling.org.

Semifinals results
60 kg
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) df. Zhora ABOVIAN (UKR), 8-0
Armen MELIKYAN (ARM) df. Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN), 5-0

67 kg
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) df. Katsuaki ENDO (JPN), 7-5
Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (BLR) df. Deyvid DIMITROV (BUL), 2-0

72 kg
Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) Maksym YEVTUSHENKO (UKR), 6-2
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) df. Valentin PETIC (MDA), 6-0

82 kg
Milad ALIRZAEV (RUS) df. Aivengo RIKADZE (GEO), 7-2
Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO) df. Yevgeniy POLIVADOV (KAZ), 2-1

97 kg
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) df. Vladlen KOZLIUK (UKR), 9-5
Giorgi MELIA (GEO) df. Dzmitry KAMINSKI (BLR), 5-1

Finals matchups
60 kg: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) vs. Armen MELIKYAN (ARM)
67 kg: Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) vs. Aliaksandr LIAVONCHYK (BLR)
72 kg: Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) vs. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
82 kg: Milad ALIRZAEV (RUS) vs. Vjekoslav LUBURIC (CRO)
97 kg: Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) vs. Giorgi MELIA (GEO)

#development

Focus on Learning: Armenia Hosts Courses for Freestyle Coaches and Referees

By United World Wrestling Press

YEREVAN, Armenia (April 24) -- Other the past few years, Armenia has conducted multiple coaching and referee courses.

Last year, it held a course specifically designed for Greco-Roman coaches. This year, Armenia organized the same course but with an emphasis on Freestyle. The coaching course was conducted from April 10 to 14 in Yerevan.

In addition to the coaching course, a Referee Foundations course was conducted from April 14 to 17. Both courses were conducted in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity, Armenia NOC, and United World Wrestling.

The Level 2 coaching course was led by Yusup ABDUSALAMOV and was attended by 37 participants. The course focused on performance analysis, developing training plans, risk management, athlete well-being, and athlete safeguarding. The coaches participated in theoretical and practical sessions that helped provided a better understanding of the concepts.

"The participants demonstrated a positive attitude and engagement throughout the course. They showed a willingness to learn and apply new coaching methodologies, which is a good indicator of future development potential. Abdusalamov said. 

"We highly appreciate the organization and delivery of the UWW Level 2 coaching course in Armenia. The program introduced modern coaching approaches and provided valuable knowledge for our coaches." Arayik BAGHDADYAN, Secretary General of Armenia Wrestling Federation, said.

Armenia

Following the U20 National Championships, the Level 2 Referee Foundations course was led by Igor LIGAY. This course was attended by 25 participants which included national and international referees, coaches and the head Greco-Roman coach from Armenia.

This course covered various topics that included the updated UWW rules, evaluating actions, referee positioning, and coordination of the refereeing team. The participants learned through interactive sessions and practical on-the-mat experience.

"This seminar had a significant impact on my athletic development. As an athlete who participates in international competitions, I found the technical details and practical approaches presented to be especially valuable, as they can be directly applied on the mat," Srbuhi HOVAKIMYAN, who participated in the coaching course, said.